Reply To: Movies from Slavic countries

Aleksandr Petrov has been nominated for three Oscars for Best Animated Short Film and also won the Award for THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. While only winning 1 of the 4 times he was up for the award, he easily could have won every time, as his artwork is so unique and transcendent–making the films less as cartoons and more like gorgeous works of art. Sadly, there's almost no information about this important artist on IMDb–and this probably reflects the gap between the East and West. Like all of his films, it is long (for a short) and tells a very complex story in vivid colors and textures. If you've never seen one of Petrov's films before, you'll find yourself transfixed. As for me, it's the fourth one I've seen and so some of the newness has worn off–but it's still amazing and I'll be pulling for him at the award ceremony next month.

"Moya lyubov" was even prettier on the big screen and of the five nominees it was definitely the most artistic, though I enjoyed watching "Même les pigeons vont au paradis" more. Petrov's film is great and is a pretty good bet for the Oscar. However, it's biggest weaknesses are the plot (which is very unconventional) and the fact that Petrov is a perennial nominee. I think it's definitely between these two films and if I were voting, I'd give the nod to "Même les pigeons vont au paradis" though either one is quite deserving. My advice is regardless of the outcome, see them both.

My Love is an artistic animation. It looks good on a larger screen. A picture is worth a thousand words.

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Chronica Slavorum was originally a medieval chronicle which observed life and culture of Slavs, written by Helmold, a Saxon priest and historian. Today Slavorum is focused on international audience to bring them all the information they need about events, travel, culture, history, science, entertainment and food from Slavic cultural and geographical parts of the world!